Todd that looks Killer How much weight has it gained with all those bars? Also did you see the new rule from NHRA about drive shaft tubes and bars? It was put in place since Barb Nesbitt have the drive shaft come apart and almost beat her to death. She is doing much better now. But NHRA saw the issue and responded. Maybe this will save you some work later.

Wow 15* with all that extra tube. You got to love chrome moly When I re-looked your pictures I saw the stock type floor in it. I've been thinking about another loop on the wagon also. The guy that owned it before us had a trans come apart on the street and the drive shaft had beat up the floor pretty good. It put a couple of cuts in it.

I just remembered one area of weight added I did not take into consideration. The 11 gauge, .125" thick plate used to box the frame.

I just found a weight/sq-ft for this material and is calculates out to 14 lbs of material for both frame rails.

The car is also getting fiberglass doors and lexan door windows. Stock doors weigh 90 lbs each (with crash bars already removed). I weighed a Glasstek door I recently completed for a 4th gen Firebird and that door assembly weighed 18 lbs complete. I weighed one of the Glasstek f/g doors (bare) and it was around 15 lbs, so I'd say the completed door would b in the 22 to 25 lb range complete. Wish it was as light at the Firebird door (same basic physical size). The f/g door should still knock a solid 125 lbs off the car.

The TRZ housing showed up Christmas eve and today I was able to fabricate and install the back brace as well as machining and installing the lower shock mounts. The housing is mocked up and I'm ready to bend up the tubes for the back portion of the cage.

I don't see an anti roll bar there Steve. I think you're looking at the shock mounts with a strut for mocking the mounts. Looks like the adjustable brackets for the shocks will be on the top. I've never seen one set up like that.

I didn't know you worked on chassis's Todd but VERY, VERY nice work you are doing for sure. I take it your retaining the stock dimension rear suspension for the stock suspension type class?, other wise I would see a whole different rear setup with the standard 4 link and coilovers. So far you have done an execellent job

Are you using the same size rear tires and wheels then too?, looks like it from the tubs not being cut out

If I were you, like Steve mentioned, I would do what EVER it takes to put a drive shaft tube in your chassis too, I would really hate to read about you in a similar situation as Barb was in after doing all this work. Rumor that I heard was the chassis shop(which I won't mention) used material of the smaller sizes and that contributed to her accident and all the damage She recieved due to an inferior chassis build in the area of failure. She got hurt pretty bad and we need to keep All racers safe at higher speeds too, YOU INCLUDED! so think about it very hard.

Again, your doing a GREAT job Todd, Kudo's to you.

More pics needed as progress continues.How do the VFN parts look that you have gotten & worked with so far, are they worth the price vs say, Harwood, or other glass companies? Thanks.

I didn't know you worked on chassis's Todd but VERY, VERY nice work you are doing for sure. I take it your retaining the stock dimension rear suspension for the stock suspension type class?, other wise I would see a whole different rear setup with the standard 4 link and coilovers. So far you have done an execellent job

Are you using the same size rear tires and wheels then too?, looks like it from the tubs not being cut out

If I were you, like Steve mentioned, I would do what EVER it takes to put a drive shaft tube in your chassis too, I would really hate to read about you in a similar situation as Barb was in after doing all this work. Rumor that I heard was the chassis shop(which I won't mention) used material of the smaller sizes and that contributed to her accident and all the damage She recieved due to an inferior chassis build in the area of failure. She got hurt pretty bad and we need to keep All racers safe at higher speeds too, YOU INCLUDED! so think about it very hard.

Again, your doing a GREAT job Todd, Kudo's to you.

More pics needed as progress continues.How do the VFN parts look that you have gotten & worked with so far, are they worth the price vs say, Harwood, or other glass companies? Thanks.

John

Hey John,

The car is remaining small tire, stock suspension. I'm staying with a 10" rim, but going from a 6" back space to a 2 7/8" back space rim. Rear will be narrowed accordingly.

I am notching the rear frame rails to the inner skin, hence the reason for the new tube inner rear frame rails. I will be able to go from a 295 drag radial to the wider 315 as well as fitting a 10.5 x 29.5 bias if needed.

I prefer Glasstek fiberglass the most, but VFN is real close in quality. Glasstek has a better system for producing parts meaning you have a MUCh shorter wait time. What they do is have glass laid up in the molds waiting for an order. When an order comes in, they get the molds out, pop out the piece, trim and assemble, then ship. before the molds get put back they lay up more glass and put it on the shelf to cure and wait for the next order. Much more efficient setup IMO.

I am considering the driveshaft tube right now. I do need to watch how much safety gear is added to the car for weight reasons running N/A. I also would like to equip the car with an onboard fire suppression system.